Barcelona Rout Betis 5-2 at La Liga
MADRID (AP) - Antoine Griezmann copied Lionel Messi to score a goal and then imitated NBA star LeBron James to celebrate it.
Griezmann thrived on his Camp Nou debut with Barcelona on Sunday, scoring twice to lead the Catalan club to its first Spanish league win of the season with a 5-2 rout of Real Betis.
The newly signed France forward scored his first goal with Barcelona in the first half after Betis had taken an early lead, then took inspiration from Messi to curl in a left-footed shot shortly after halftime.
"I see Messi doing that in practice and I tried to copy him," Griezmann said.
To celebrate his second goal, Griezmann went near the Barcelona fans behind the goal, picked up glitter from someone who appeared to be a staff member and threw it up in the air with his arms spread in the style of James' chalk toss routine over the years.
"I like LeBron's ritual and I tried to imitate him," Griezmann said.
Griezmann came through for Barcelona as Messi and Luis Suárez watched from the stands because of injuries.
Carles Pérez, Jordi Alba and Arturo Vidal also scored for Barcelona. Nabil Fekir and Loren Morón scored for Betis.
Barcelona had lost 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao last weekend for its first opening league defeat in a decade. Messi had already missed that game because of a calf injury, while Suárez got hurt before halftime in Bilbao. Forward Ousmane Dembele also was out injured on Sunday.
Griezmann, who joined from Atlético Madrid for 120 million euros ($133 million) in the offseason, had started at Barcelona with a lackluster performance in the opener. But he took charge on Sunday, scoring his first goal after sliding to a cross from Sergi Roberto in the 41st minute.
*********Barcelona's Antoine Griezmann, center, controls the ball during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between FC Barcelona and Betis at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Aug 25, 2019.
Griezmann thrived on his Camp Nou debut with Barcelona on Sunday, scoring twice to lead the Catalan club to its first Spanish league win of the season with a 5-2 rout of Real Betis.
The newly signed France forward scored his first goal with Barcelona in the first half after Betis had taken an early lead, then took inspiration from Messi to curl in a left-footed shot shortly after halftime.
"I see Messi doing that in practice and I tried to copy him," Griezmann said.
To celebrate his second goal, Griezmann went near the Barcelona fans behind the goal, picked up glitter from someone who appeared to be a staff member and threw it up in the air with his arms spread in the style of James' chalk toss routine over the years.
"I like LeBron's ritual and I tried to imitate him," Griezmann said.
Griezmann came through for Barcelona as Messi and Luis Suárez watched from the stands because of injuries.
Carles Pérez, Jordi Alba and Arturo Vidal also scored for Barcelona. Nabil Fekir and Loren Morón scored for Betis.
Barcelona had lost 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao last weekend for its first opening league defeat in a decade. Messi had already missed that game because of a calf injury, while Suárez got hurt before halftime in Bilbao. Forward Ousmane Dembele also was out injured on Sunday.
Griezmann, who joined from Atlético Madrid for 120 million euros ($133 million) in the offseason, had started at Barcelona with a lackluster performance in the opener. But he took charge on Sunday, scoring his first goal after sliding to a cross from Sergi Roberto in the 41st minute.
*********Barcelona's Antoine Griezmann, center, controls the ball during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between FC Barcelona and Betis at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Aug 25, 2019.